What It Would Be Like
by Cathy Rin
Summary: Oneshot. If Lucy did not accompany Cana to Tenroujima, and Natsu and Lucy were together. Lucy leaves Fairy Tail to get over her grief, and joins Sabertooth under a new name and little brother. Seven years later, they are back, and Fairy Tail is without a Lucy Heartfilia. But on Sabertooth, word of a Luce Eucliffe is at large. Established NaLu and Siblings StiCy!


**I've been modifying my tumblr page when I remembered I forgot to post this on this site, so here it is, molded into a simple headcannon oneshot!**

 **Original Post in tumblr:**

 **I'm not really much of a shipper of StiCy since I wholeheartedly support NaLu. This just came to my head one day after re-watching the beginning of the Grand Magic Games and thought, what if Lucy was not part of the ones who had gone to Tenroujima? Of course, I really have to add an Established NaLu one way or another, and this is what I came up with, and some few little twists.**

 **PART I Knowing You're Alive**

 **Hargeon**

Lucy didn't want to believe what she had heard nearly seven years ago.

They had received news about the destruction of Tenrou Island, along with the ones who are in its vicinity just an hour after the Magic Council had announced to send out search parties that lasted for six months. Of course, as an entire island being blasted to nothingness by a dragon, it was highly unlikely that there were ever going to be survivors. In her mind, she accepted it, but her heart was a different matter.

Tears streamed from her eyes as she thought about her friends who perished along with the island. What was more, their master was present there, making the succession of the title of master a touchy subject. Now their core members were gone, most of all, their friends, the life of the guild, were gone. She should have known that something bad had happened the moment Loki had returned to the Spirit World, but he had assured her that things will be fine, and even gave her the key of Capricorn via Virgo, as the Lion Spirit had been recuperating.

But that was all in the past now.

Knowing that she would be hurt by the memories surrounding Fairy Tail, she immediately asked Macao, their new master, to remove her mark in her right hand. She had left the guild the day after, and Magnolia altogether.

She didn't want to bear the pain. If she stayed there even longer, she would succumb to the despair that awaited her. Especially the loss of Natsu.

She stared at the sea in Hargeon, wishing that someway, somehow, Tenrou would appear before them and find the missing core members of Fairy Tail. She smiled sadly. "But who am I to greet them, after I left them…?" she murmured as she stared at the back of her right hand, the mark of Fairy Tail now absent, and on her left was the mark of her new guild. She had joined just six years ago, when she was approached by Sabertooth's former master, upon hearing that the Celestial Spirit Mage who held ten of the Zodiac Spirits was now guild-less. But as of four or five years ago, the former master died, replaced by one of the oldest members, Jiemma. It seems like Sabertooth is ascending to be one of the top guilds with the guidance of their new master, but as the years passed, the man seemed to change drastically, in which his daughter, Minerva, could not help them with.

"Hey! Nee-san!" Lucy wiped her tears immediately and turned to see Sting Eucliffe and Rogue Cheney walking towards her.

Lucy smiled at the address. She had found Sting in one of her travels after leaving Fairy Tail, and had heard of a little boy who was an orphan who was rumored to have 'killed' his own father. If it weren't for her meeting his brown-furred Exceed, she wouldn't have known that the father that was spoken of was a dragon, concluding that he was a Dragon Slayer. She had adopted him straight after, all the while keeping his last name intact. In fact, she adopted the same last name afterwards, with the knowledge of her own father who was in Acalypha. Six months after that, both her and Sting were welcomed in Sabertooth with the promise of showing great power, where Sting had met and became best friends with Rogue.

"Ah, Sting, Rogue, are you two alright now?" she asked with concern. Being Dragon Slayers, the two really can't handle their sickness in vehicles, which was still a mystery to her even after all these years. But as Sting had said (to save his pride probably) that motion sickness is proof that you are a 'true' Dragon Slayer.

Sting looked a little sheepish at her question. Lucy had opted the two rest for a while to get their energy back from their very long train ride, and had left them for a while to explore Hargeon. "Well, yes. Can we get on with our job now?"

Nodding, the three of them set out on their mission. They had left their two Exceeds on their own to explore Hargeon, as it was the first time that they had been in the port, though Rogue was against trusting Lector with Frosch at first.

"By the way," Rogue said, "We saw some of the Fairy Tail guild members leave port not too long ago. Just saying,"

Looking unperturbed, Lucy looked forward. "After all these years, they still kept on searching," she replied as she scratched her now long dark and blond tresses. Upon leaving Fairy Tail, she had changed her appearance to start anew, and even went as far as shortening her name to keep her identity from Fairy Tail as much as possible, not because she wanted to erase it on purpose. It was just because of circumstances. She took up the name of Luce Eucliffe, the older sister of Sting Eucliffe to do that. After all, she was one of the main keys of Sabertooth's success, and she was trusted by the Master just like his daughter.

Thankfully for most of the guild members, she was the one in charge of excommunicating or adding mages into their fray, and no one but her and the Master knew why.

"Speak for yourself Nee-san," Sting said. "You hadn't given up in your personal searches either,"

"Yes, I haven't…" she then looked back at the port, "It's been a while since I last set foot in here," she mused.

"Oh? When was the first and last time?" Sting wondered.

A smile graced her lips. "The first time was when I met Natsu when someone impersonated him, and the last was when I bid them goodbye before they went to Tenrou," she said, remembering the disaster that went afterwards. With the look on Sting's face, she knew that he was slightly jealous of the fact that she got to meet Natsu, the man that he had looked up on until recently, when he became a bit arrogant. Had it not been for her, his arrogance would have gone to a higher level as it is now, as is Rogue's, who admired Gajeel, much to her shock.

"Ah! How lucky can you get Nee-san?" Sting wondered out loud while letting out a sigh. Her stories about Natsu never failed to amuse him, and Lector and Frosch also wonders about their fellow Exceeds who had also perished in Tenrou.

"I guess I just am," she replied.

They had decided to have lunch at a local restaurant, which was also a nostalgic place for her as of seven years ago. Though as she ate, she can't help but look at the two who were eating excessively. Sometimes she wonders if the owners of the restaurants that they come into would get rich every single time they eat out. But at least in their case, only Rogue had manners while Sting was eating like he hasn't eaten in days.

Not long after, both Lector and Frosch came flying towards them.

"Luce-san! Big news!" Lector, a brown furred cat called.

Sting looked at Lector, his face still stuffed with food. "Well then spit it out,"

"We saw the Fairy Tail ship docking with more people!" Frosch said.

Sting raised a brow, "What? How did the weakest guild gather that many members?" he wondered, nearly missing the look Lucy was giving him.

"Sting…" she warned.

The blond man immediately recoiled, reminding him that he should never ever say Fairy Tail and weak in a single sentence. "Sorry!" he apologized before coughing to get his composure back.

"They're not new members! I saw a man with pink hair from one of Luce-san's albums," when Lector had said hat, Lucy dropped the spoon that she was holding a few seconds ago. Her eyes were wide in shock. There was only one Fairy Tail mage that she knew that had pink hair. _'Natsu…'_

"They…they're alive…?" Lucy asked the two Exceeds.

"Hey. Don't jump to conclusions that easily," Sting reminded.

Rogue, who had been silent and observing Lucy for a while, sighed as he wiped any traces of food on his lips, "Well, do you want to find out for yourself?" Rogue asked her.

Her eyes widened at the possibility, and the desire to see Natsu and her friends again after so long, but…she was no longer a Fairy Tail mage. "No." she said firmly. "It's too early to assume that they are back. On the off chance that they are," she replied, "Then we would likely meet them at the Grand Magic Games in three months." She said as she stood up, placing three thousand jewels on the table, "We better get going. Our employer is waiting,"

The Dragon Slayers looked at each other in understanding. Seven years of their absence was a long time for someone like her who had been close to them. They knew the story behind her leaving Fairy Tail after all, and they knew that if she sees them immediately, she might break down in three seconds flat. Standing up to follow her, they both agreed never to mention it until after the confirmation arrives in the guild.

…

 **Fairy Tail Guild, Magnolia**

When Natsu returned from Tenrou, he expected Lucy to be among the ones in the guild and fly to his arms in one fell swoop or hit him. He had imagined her older, and more matured. He really felt a little off having a twenty-four year-old girlfriend while he was still seventeen, but that was beside the point.

But to his shock upon returning, there was no sign of a blond haired woman happy to see him or hit him. "By the way…where's Lucy?"

Macao and the rest of the guild stiffened at the name.

The others looked around as well, finding no trace of the Celestial Spirit Mage. "Yeah, I've been wondering that too," Gray said.

Macao let out a sigh as he explained. "When you guys were thought of as dead, Lucy took it the hardest," all of them knew that Lucy was the most grief stricken, considering that her boyfriend was one of the ones in Tenrou who were attacked by Acnologia. "I couldn't bear seeing her like that every time she stops by the guild, so I advised her to leave the guild,"

Not a second later, Macao found himself being pulled by Natsu, forcing him to look at his enraged eyes. "What?! Why did you let her?!"

"Natsu, stop it," Warren said.

Wakaba decided to explain, as Macao was still unable to talk with Natsu pulling him up. "We had no further choice in the matter," he said, "You should have seen her face when she found out about you guys disappearing along with Tenrou Island. She was torn beyond compare. Every time she gets to the guild, she becomes depressed as the days pass. So we had to advise her to leave before she does anything unthinkable,"

Hearing his words, Natsu looked down, as he lowered Macao to the ground and he turned and looked away. "Damn it…" rage was filling him, but he tried to make himself calm enough to actually sink in the fact that his girlfriend left the guild.

Erza, knowing that all he wanted was to see Lucy, understood him very well. "So, are you still in contact with Lucy?"

"We still do. But she has been busy when she had joined another guild. Her letters to us come once a week or once a month," Bisca informed. "She was at our wedding and during Asuka's birthdays. She never lost contact, but they were scarce ever since she got busier in her guild," she explained, omitting the fact that she has adopted a little brother along the way.

The others stared. "Excuse me?" they asked.

"Seven years is a long time," Macao said. "She has been working hard ever since, even before she left the guild. She's now a new person, and you'll be surprised on what happened to her all these years,"

"Why did she join another guild then? Why not return to Fairy Tail?" Gray wondered.

Bisca frowned. "It's because she's afraid to return," all eyes were on her. "Ever since she left the guild, her health has been better psychologically, and she feared that if she returned to the guild, her depression will come back. She has been seeing doctors about her depression you see, and we all thought it was better if she joined another guild to help her forget the pain."

"The question is," Erza said, "Which guild did she join?"

Almost in an instant, the others went silent. "Ah, we can't really say," Warren replied. "It's best if you see for yourself where she ended up with, so to say…"

The rest of the Tenrou team wondered. What guild did Lucy ended up joining?

…

 **PART II We Meet Again, But You Don't Recognize Me**

 **Time Skip, Grand Magic Games**

Meeting Natsu again was something that Lucy saw as inevitable. But she didn't expect to meet him because he was caught in a skirmish with her little brother…

"Dinner was way too over the top," Lucy grunted as she flung herself on the bed in the room she was sharing with Yukino. "This is just the Grand Magic Games, they didn't have to rent the entire Crocus Garden to us,"

Yukino smiled at her, "Well, we are the defending champions at the games. It's only natural that we get the best accommodations and meals in town," she explained to her for the fifth time that day.

While Lucy grew up for sixteen years in the lap of luxury, she never really did like certain extravagances in her life. She preferred being simple, even though she was sometimes pressed for money several times than she could count, and Sting's appetite was something to consider as well. Lector, not very much since the Exceed was not picky.

She sighed, "Still, this is a bit much."

A knock on the door was heard by the two. After a while, Rufus poked his head inside their room, "Luce?"

"What is it?" Lucy asked, knowing that no one interrupts her unless it was necessary.

"You wouldn't happen to see Sting and Rogue and their Exceeds around have you?" he asked.

Lucy groaned at that. "You lost track of them?"

"My deepest apologies." He replied.

"None needed." Lucy said as she grabbed her hood. "I'll look for them at the plaza. It's nearing twelve in the evening and I will drag them by the ear if I have to. You guys stay here, since it's an hour before midnight. This is a code red. If they are not back by twelve, I am changing the line-ups," she instructed as she left the room in a flash.

It didn't take long for her to find them in the plaza. Her eye twitched when she saw some guys lying on the floor, clearly beaten up. It was always like this. Other guilds try to provoke the Twin Dragon Slayers, and they get hell. Her eyes scanned the place until she caught sight of blond and black hair standing all high and mighty in front of a familiar person no older than seventeen who was with another familiar person with short white hair. Her composure almost broke as she saw Natsu and Lisanna again after seven years, alongside Happy who was conversing with Frosch and Lector, but judging from Lector's body language, he was taunting him.

She went near them enough to hear Natsu say, "You…killed your own parents?!" he growled.

Lucy knew the backstory of it all, and it was not murder per say. But the explanation had to come later after the games. She had two Dragon Slayers and Exceeds to lecture right now. "Sting Eucliffe. Rogue Cheney." She called them with a stern voice as she walked towards them, gaining the attention of everyone in the vicinity. It was not new to her though.

She heard whisperings around. "That's Luce Eucliffe!"

"Really? How can you tell? She has a hood!"

"That's her trademark dimwit."

Having enough, she immediately stared at the two who looked like they were caught taking a cookie out of the cookie jar. "N-Nee-san…"

"The two of you. Do you even know the time? Should Rufus had not informed me that you were prancing around provoking fights, I wouldn't have known." She lectured. She then stared at Natsu, all the while, restraining the urge to get rid of her hood and fling herself to him. It seems that time had frozen him and the others these past seven years. "You are…Natsu Dragneel, aren't you?"

Natsu, not knowing it was Lucy under the hood, nodded hesitantly. "So what?"

 _'Hotheaded as usual…'_ she thought. "I apologize for their actions, whatever it may be, against you." She said with sincere apology. That was the persona she had built up every time someone in Sabertooth picks fights that are too embarrassing to even talk about. Apology from the adviser of the master no less. Ever since then, no one in Sabertooth has done anything stupid. Except maybe her younger brother.

The others were shocked at the sudden apology of Lucy, which got everyone whispering, and the two Dragon Slayers looking ashamed that they provoked her in apologizing in their behalf.

But instead of a response to her apology, Natsu caught a whiff of her and said, "You're familiar…"

Surprised that his nose still manage to pick up a trace of her scent that Sting had taught her to hide over the years, she smiled. "Maybe we _have_ met before," She said. "Though I hardly think you would recognize me anyway," she then turned to the two. "I'll give you the right to beat them to pulp during the games as a peace offering. As for you two," both Sting and Rogue looked away from her. "We need to talk. Return to Crocus Garden. _Now._ " At her tone, the two didn't even dare defy her. The two Exceeds followed soon after, not caring of the stares they were getting.

"I'll see you at the official games, Natsu Dragneel," she bid one last time as she retreated with the four.

At that moment, Lucy didn't manage to hear Natsu mutter with disbelief, "Lucy…"

…

"What were the four of you thinking?" Lucy said as he sat on her bed, and across from her and Yukino were the four who were kneeling in front of her with guilty and remorseful looks. "Provoking a fight, and taunting an enemy guild that early, before the games?" she summarized their offense. "Let me remind you that I am responsible with the five of you, and Lector and Frosch. I am _this_ close in changing the line-ups because of this."

Sting bowed his head lower, "I'm sorry Nee-san…I guess we went a little overboard this time," he admitted.

"We are deeply regretful that you went through all the trouble back there, and with that we apologize," Rogue said as well.

Lucy knew that there was a reason for this, and she was getting it even if she has to use other methods. "Tell me the reason you provoked a fight," she commanded.

"They started it! I swear!" Sting said suddenly.

Lucy sighed and placed a palm on her forehead, "Really you…" she said as she sighed, trying to maintain her composure, "Fine, I will overlook things just this once. But if you so much as pick another fight with another participating guild, I'm placing my foot down. Do you understand?"

"Y-Yes!" the four said immediately.

Lucy had been part of their lives for six years, and has watched over the two of them ever since, and they know that they had dubbed her as their mother of sorts behind her back. She has taken that role without the title though, and it was clear to them that she would do anything for her adopted little brother and his friend. But when it goes too far, the kid gloves comes off. Angering Luce Eucliffe was the last thing Sting and Rogue would ever do.

…

Back at the inn of Fairy Tail, after a sermon from Erza, Natsu couldn't forget Luce Eucliffe. He could swear that he had caught a faint scent that is so similar to Lucy, it wasn't even funny. He knew that Sting's older sister was hiding something, and his hunch might just be right.

 _'If you really are her…my Lucy…why won't you return to me? To Fairy Tail…?'_ he thought. _'I need answers, and I will get them from you at the games,_ Luce Eucliffe, _'_

His thoughts were cut off when the clock struck twelve and a pumpkin mascot appeared in the sky.

 **END**

 **The other parts, I leave to your imagination. I seriously have a lot of ideas for this, but I can't put it in writing.**

 **Thanks for reading!**


End file.
